7 Comments

plurimus

Well……..yes. Now is the summer of our discontent. Made dismal winter by this sun of [New] York [real estate]. Viciously tweeting while the country burns.

The snarky us vs. them politics of facebook is just as bad on both ends of the political spectrum. Identity politics is the order of the day. It’s fashionable now to pick a side and hijack a meme. Never mind if you can clearly articulate your position and back it up with facts. The tribes are gathering.

Bonnie Hauser

An Indy reporter described us as “pseudo progressive”. He watched us exploit progressive principles like public education, social justice, and affordable housing for political purposes. We commit $$ but if someone asks questions about spending, outcomes or alternatives, its considered adversarial and quickly degrades into ideological warfare.

That’s partly why our well funded schools have be unable to close the large achievement gap.

Transportation is the poster child. Under the auspices of public transportation, we’re getting light rail that serves developers and wealthy commuters at the expense of bus service to the working classes. Those who questioned light rail were quickly labeled “anti-transit”, obstructionist or worse – “republican”. One county commissioner characterized public comment as “fake news”.
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bart

My Dad lives in a Republican stronghold. He was complaining about all the corruption and anger there and I told him I saw the exact same thing here. I said the behavior is the SAME, only the direction it is coming from is not.

He said a Democrat couldn’t get elected dog catcher. I told him a Republican couldn’t get elected here. Both are one party towns and neither has a lot of social support or otherwise for folks who counter local orthodoxy!

bart

You do know that California has instituted a travel ban when using state funds. There are now eight states that California considers no-go.

From Chattanooga Times Free-Press columnist Roy Exum:

“California, long labeled “The Left Coast,” just added four more of our United States to an unfathomable hate list, imposing a moralistic “travel ban” on Texas, Alabama, South Dakota and Kentucky. That brings the number of states that California dislikes enough to purposely inflict economic pain to eight, this in just the last six months. Earlier this year Tennessee, Kansas, Mississippi and North Carolina were announced in the inaugural “off limits” assault.”
….

“Here’s the deal: California state law AB 1887 – which went into effect Jan. 1, 2017 — staunchly prohibits state-funded and state-sponsored travel to states that authorize and require discrimination based on sexual gender, gender identity, gender expression or same-sex couples. Any state agency, departments, board, authorities and commissions associated with the University of California system, its regents, or California State University (system) are banned from the thus-far eight states now on the list. Individual travel is still permitted by California residents but not on the taxpayer’s dime.

The California Assembly passed the law 56-21 and the state Senate passed it 26-12. This was hardly on a whim.”
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” a spokesman for Kentucky Governor Matt Bevin also criticized California officials. “It is fascinating that the very same West Coast liberals who rail against the President’s executive order, that protects our nation from foreign terrorists, have now contrived their own travel ban aimed at punishing states who don’t fall in lockstep with their far-left political ideology,” said Woody Maglinger.”

Well, I do know a gal in California. I’ll let her come here on the down low if necessary. But although she likes me (family, after all), she considers both my current home and the one I was born in unreconstructed. I doubt she’ll visit. Still, I’d love to see her!